The present invention relates to a tool for holding and driving a nail in inaccessible places and in places where a hammer cannot easily be swung.
In many situations confronting the home owner or carpenter, it is necessary to drive a nail in relatively inaccessible places such as in a corner formed by two adjacent surfaces or in deeply recessed areas. In such situations, it is often extremely difficult to start the nail because there is insufficient space to accommodate the hand and fingers of the person holding the nail. Furthermore, the limitations of space may make it impossible to swing the hammer more than several inches or with any force thereby making driving of the nail quite difficult. When attempting to start or drive a nail under these conditions, bent or misplaced nails are quite common, not to speak of possible injury to one's fingers or thumb.
For inexperienced or unskilled persons, driving a nail in a relatively flat surface free of obstructions can also be a problem when starting the nail due to missing the nail head with the hammer and striking the fingers or thumb. Another difficulty often encountered by the inexperienced is that of bending the nail prior to its being completely driven into the surface of the wood.
In finish carpentry where the nails cannot be visible, they must be set beneath the surface of the wood and then covered with putty or plastic wood. This requires the use of a separate tool, one end of which is placed against the head of the driven nail while the other end is struck with a hammer thereby driving the head of the nail into the wood without marring the surface.
The prior art includes a number of nail drivers including an elongated member having a slot in its forward end for receiving the head and shank of a nail. In several instances, the nail is held within the slot by means of resilient detents such as a spring loaded ball latch or a wire clip. The use of such detent mechanisms is undesirable because the nail is not positively held against lateral movement during driving thereby resulting in bent nails or nails which are not accurately located. A further difficulty resides in the fact that the detent must be overcome in removing the tool from the partially driven nail. This often causes the nail to be pulled loose or misaligned. A further class of prior art nail holders comprise a hammerhead provided with means for engaging both the head and shank of the nail which is then started by swinging the hammer against the surface of the wood. Although a device of this character may protect the fingers of the user, it is obviously not useful for starting and driving nails in inaccessible places or where it is impossible to swing the hammer through its full arc.